MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo blames coronavirus for closure of Adelaide restaurant Orana
High profile restaurateur Jock Zonfrillo has elaborated on his reasons for closing his acclaimed Adelaide restaurant, Orana — and what he is doing to settle its financial affairs.
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FORMER Adelaide restaurateur Jock Zonfrillo has blamed COVID-19 for the permanent closure of his internationally-acclaimed restaurant, Orana.
The MasterChef judge and multi award-winning chef said he made the difficult decision as the lease on the popular East End establishment was about to expire.
Zonfrillo, pictured, who moved to Melbourne with his family earlier this year, said Orana’s closure was the “direct result of COVID”.
“Orana’s dining room is tiny, which meant the current restrictions didn’t allow us to break even, and more than half our customers came from interstate or overseas which is restricted due to border closures,” he said.
Zonfrillo said the lease on the restaurant’s Frank’s Lane second-storey premises was finishing at the end of next month.
“It didn’t make sense for us to reinvent ourselves and change the fit-out to meet these evolving restrictions with such a short amount of time left on our lease,” he said.
Orana attracted a national and international reputation – including being named the 2019 Australian restaurant of the year – for its innovative menu featuring native Australian ingredients.
Zonfrillo said he and his wife, Lauren, were busy settling the restaurant’s financial affairs. “We’re up to date with paying staff their leave, redundancies and super, and up to date with all our lodgements with the ATO,” he said.
“We’re now working on a solution to finalise payments with our small pool of trade creditors, the ATO, landlord and bank.
“In terms of people who hold Restaurant Orana gift vouchers, there are a few options on getting a refund which are being sorted through now and we will advise them over the next week or so.”
Zonfrillo said his experience providing fine dining in Adelaide – and involvement with the annual Tasting Australia event – had been an important part of his culinary journey.
“South Australia is an extraordinary part of the world to live and work in, and it’s been a privilege to be part of the Adelaide food story,” he said.
“I will continue to fly that flag and keep contributing wherever possible.”
Zonfrillo first announced the closure of Orana on his Instagram account on Tuesday afternoon.
He said Orana had been driven “by creativity and discovery, of perfection, listening and learning”: “We achieved more than ever thought possible and feel privileged to have scored a few accolades along the way.”